A known electrical connector assembly which employs IDC contacts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,200. An inner housing incorporates pre-terminated IDC contacts and is then inserted into an outer housing header. This connector provides an advantageous low-profile connector assembly; however, the wires must be pre-terminated to the inner housing prior to connection with the header, as the header and inner housing are not adapted to provide termination when the header and inner housing are in a partially assembled state. Additionally, the inner housing does not provide dedicated wire strain relief features, and no further strain relief member is provided in the assembly other than crimp-legs integrally formed on the IDC contacts. Furthermore, the invention does not contemplate a connector position assurance device for ensuring that the inner housing has been fully inserted into the header.
Another known connector assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,862. This assembly is intended to be used in an automotive environment, and includes a header, an inner housing, and a terminal position assurance device. This assembly provides an advantageous way of assuring that electrical interconnections have properly been made; however, the assembly relies on snap-crimp technology, i.e. pre-terminating the wires using crimp technology prior to connection of the wire terminals to the housing. Additionally, the wire strain relief method relies on crimp-legs of the crimp terminals for engaging the wires.
A known IDC terminal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,176. This known terminal includes a generally U-shaped backup spring section; however, the IDC terminal is not adapted for use as a retaining means for the IDC terminal within a housing. Other IDC terminals with back-up sections/are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,159,158; 4,255,009; and 4,408,824.
Another electrical connector with dedicated wire strain relief is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,220, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This reference discloses an inner housing with wire slots having latching fingers which force a respective wire into a frictionally retained and deformed shape. However, this solution requires crimp-leg strain relief technology, and my cause damage to the wire insulation of small-gauge wires. Additionally, the IDC contacts and wires are terminated before the inner housing is assembled to an outer housing. Other connectors using strain relief are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,997,234, 5,064,967 and 5,136,196.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior assemblies and terminal by providing a robust electrical connector assembly wherein the header and inner housing are adapted to withstand IDC termination when the header and inner housing are in a partially assembled state. Additionally, the inner housing includes dedicated wire strain relief features, and a further strain relief member is provided on the assembly. Furthermore, the present invention contemplates a connector position assurance device for ensuring that the inner housing has been fully inserted into the header. Moreover, the assembly of the present invention can be formed in a smaller shape than the prior art because the IDC contacts do not require as much space as traditional crimp-snap terminals.